WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush on Thursday announced plans to support a Kenyan peace bid and highlighted US aid to Africa but warned that domestic politics could delay his week-long trip to the continent.
The president was to depart Friday for a trek to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia likely to mark his last visit to Africa as president, as he hoped to underscore the gentler side of US policy amid global condemnation of his war in Iraq.
But Bush said he could postpone the visit in order to coax the House of Representatives into passing a controversial wiretapping measure that would allow surveillance of foreign contacts without penalty for companies that engage in it.
"Moments ago my staff informed the House leadership that I am prepared to delay my departure and stay in Washington with them if it will help them complete their work on this critical bill," Bush told reporters at the White House.
The trip is aimed at shoring up Bush's presidential legacy and underscoring how he has expanded US aid to battle HIV/AIDS and malaria; to promote democratic and free-market reforms; and to try to help end thorny regional disputes.
Earlier, Bush said he would dispatch Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to boost efforts toward political reconciliation in Kenya, and vowed to maintain tough sanctions against those who perpetuate violence in Darfur.
"In Kenya, we are backing the efforts of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan to end the crisis," he said in a speech delivered at the Smithsonian Museum of African History.
"And when we are on the continent, I have asked Condi Rice to travel to Kenya to support the work of the former secretary general and to deliver a message directly to Kenya's leaders and people," he said.
"There must be an immediate halt to violence, there must be justice for the victims of abuse, and there must be a full return to democracy."
Bush's announcement came shortly after the United Nations said that Kenya's rival parties signed an agreement during talks led by Annan aiming to end weeks of political turmoil that has left more than 1,000 people dead.
Bush, set to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, also lamented the lack of progress in Darfur amid efforts to get a joint African Union-United Nations Darfur peacekeeping force up to full strength.
"I must confess I am a little frustrated by how slow things are moving," said Bush, who reiterated his stance that the killing there amounts to genocide.
Bush said he would use all his diplomatic resources "to urge the deployment of an effective United Nations force" and "continue to enforce sanctions, tough sanctions against the Sudanese government officials, leaders and others responsible for violence."
Asked during an interview with the BBC whether he feared Darfur could become his Rwanda -- referring to statements made by former president Bill Clinton who has said he is sometimes kept awake at night over fears he did not do enough to stop the killing there -- Bush said: "I don't think so. I certainly hope not."
He said he had decided not to commit US troops to Darfur after hearing the opinions of the American people.
"I was pretty well backed off of it by -- you know, a lot of folks -- here in America that care deeply about the issue.
"I mean, actually, believe it or not, (I) listen to people's opinions. And (I) chose to make this decision. It's a decision that I'm now living with."
Asked about film director Steven Spielberg's decision to end his involvement as artistic director of Olympics entertainment in host Beijing over what he called China's failure to stop the killing in Darfur, Bush said "that's up to him."
"I get to talk to President Hu Jintao. And I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur," Bush said.
The trip was to open Saturday in Benin, where Bush would discuss US-backed efforts to battle malaria and promote education, before heading on to Tanzania.
Also on the agenda were visits on anti-AIDS efforts in Dar Es Salaam, and a tour of a school, hospital and textile mill in Arusha.
The president and First Lady Laura Bush were to travel to Rwanda and pay their respects at a memorial for the 1995 genocide and observe US-trained peacekeepers, before heading on to Ghana.
Bush planned to end the visit in Liberia, a country he has praised as "an emerging democracy" with an improving human rights situation.
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